- Share This Post
- submit
- 1
-
Sparkle (0)
My husband is off on a work trip, which means, as I tell my four- and two-year-old, I "don't have to share them"--and I certainly have no time for any partying. Not so members of Congress--today alone, there are at least five planned fundraising parties being thrown by lobbyists representing pharmaceutical manufacturers and other health care interests.
Jocelyn Hong, of the 21st Century Group, will be hosting two events--a lunch for Rep. Mark Schuaer (D-MI) and an evening reception for Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ). Hong represents both Sanofi-Aventis and Schering-Plough.
There are two breakfasts and one dinner scheduled to take place today as well. Patton Boggs' lobbyists Ben Ginsberg, Ed Newberry, Darryl Nirenberg and Kevin O'Neil will be hosting Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) while Cesar Conda and Manus Cooney will be entertaining Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) over breakfast.
Finally, Jeff MacKinnon, who represents Avantis, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Merck, will be hosting a Cafe 8 Dinner for Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) at 6:30 pm.
In addition to today's events, Steve Clark and Sam Geduldig (of Clark and Associates), who represent the likes of Ernst & Young and Barr Laboratories, held a dinner in Rep. Bill Posey's (R-TX) honor last night at the Matchbox.
These six fundraisers--of the 16 total fundraisers featuring
pharmaceutical lobbyist hosts we have in our database for the month of
September, come on the heels of the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America's (PhARMA) rollout of a $150 million
advertising campaign in support of the Baucus health care bill says Duff Wilson of the New York Times.
The drug industry's trade group plans to roll out a
series of television advertisements in coming weeks specifically to
support Senator Max Baucus's health care overhaul proposal, according
to an industry official involved in the planning.
The move would be a follow-up to the deal that drug makers struck in June with Mr. Baucus [and the White House.]
President Obama has cited the deal with the group as
signifying a new era of cooperation. But some critics say the
advertising fund could be wielded against alternative approaches to
health care legislation.
The industry's support for the Baucus plan, critics argue, is a
direct result of both Sen. Baucas' and President Obama's public support
for an individual mandate. (See the text of President Obama's speech and Senator Baucus' "Framework for comprehensive health reform")
A plan with an individual mandate and no public option is, as the Washington Examiner writes, the "Holy Grail" of reform for the health care lobby.
To see clients for lobbyists hosting events click on individuals' names: Steve Clark, Ben Ginsberg, Ed Newberry, Darryl Nirenberg, Kevin O'Neil, Sam Geduldig, Cesar Conda, Manus Cooney, Jocelyn Hong, Jeff MacKinnon.
Much thanks to Josh Heath, consultant to the Sunlight Foundation, for his research and writing for this post.
